Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
A few days before California voters decided to legalize recreational marijuana, Jason got an upsetting email from his business partner: The new owner of their rented warehouse in San Rafael wanted to come by for a walkthrough in 48 hours.
For most businesses, that wouldn't be a big deal. But it was a problem for Jason. Inside his warehouse were three fully equipped grow rooms, each housing 80 mature and flowering cannabis plants.
"I panicked and had a little freakout before realizing I had some time and had to get to work," he said.
Discretion has been key for those involved in the underground marijuana industry. Jason had already suffered a home invasion robbery and agreed to be interviewed on condition only his first name be used, not only to stay out of trouble with his landlord, but also for fear his home will be burglarized again.
But after getting that email he had to act fast. Eight people got to work packing up equipment, while Jason spent four hours on the phone to score the hard-to-find boxes large enough to hold his plants without damaging them.
He and his crew worked for 30 hours with only a couple breaks until one of the biggest rental trucks available was loaded up with all the super-stinky plants, ready for transport. Jason drove an empty truck as a decoy.
Some of the inventory went to friends, but most ended up at Jason's house. The warehouse owner came around the next afternoon and saw nothing.
"That night I was able to laugh a little here and there, eat a burger here and there, and finally fall asleep," Jason said as he scooped up a dab of Face Off OG wax and prepared to smoke it from his electric nail, set to its usual 605 degrees.
The next day, before Jason could bring the plants back, the landlord of his West Oakland house sent a text to say he was on the way to check the smoke detectors. After quickly claiming to have food poisoning to delay the visit, Jason had to move everything all over again.
Capers like this have long been a part of the unregulated world of medical cannabis. But with the passage of Proposition 64 on the November 8 ballot, and new statewide medical cannabis regulations about to be implemented, a whole new set of challenges is coming. And those challenges will be particularly apparent in Oakland, hometown of Oaksterdam University and a city that will undoubtedly remain a center of the cannabis trade.
Prohibition against recreational use ended the day after the election in California, but residents can't legally buy pot without a medical recommendation until 2018. Experts agree it'll take a while to see the full impact of legalization, but it's clear a major new industry will be born–and a big shakeup will hit everyone from secret growers like Jason to businesses already operating legitimately under state and local law.
Even if Proposition 64 didn't pass, many of these changes were on their way for the medical industry.
California voters legalized medical cannabis in 1996, but there had never been a statewide regulatory system until the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) became law in January. MCRSA is the joint effort of three pot-related laws requiring state agencies to issue licenses to medical cannabis businesses, enforce product testing requirements and track all plants grown by licensed cultivators.
The new system is supposed to be in place by the start of 2018. It will be a vast new bureaucracy of getting high.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Cannabis Industry In Limbo As California Ends Pot Prohibition
Author: Nate Sheidlower
Contact: staff@oaklandnorth.net
Photo Credit: Nate Sheidlower
Website: Oakland North
For most businesses, that wouldn't be a big deal. But it was a problem for Jason. Inside his warehouse were three fully equipped grow rooms, each housing 80 mature and flowering cannabis plants.
"I panicked and had a little freakout before realizing I had some time and had to get to work," he said.
Discretion has been key for those involved in the underground marijuana industry. Jason had already suffered a home invasion robbery and agreed to be interviewed on condition only his first name be used, not only to stay out of trouble with his landlord, but also for fear his home will be burglarized again.
But after getting that email he had to act fast. Eight people got to work packing up equipment, while Jason spent four hours on the phone to score the hard-to-find boxes large enough to hold his plants without damaging them.
He and his crew worked for 30 hours with only a couple breaks until one of the biggest rental trucks available was loaded up with all the super-stinky plants, ready for transport. Jason drove an empty truck as a decoy.
Some of the inventory went to friends, but most ended up at Jason's house. The warehouse owner came around the next afternoon and saw nothing.
"That night I was able to laugh a little here and there, eat a burger here and there, and finally fall asleep," Jason said as he scooped up a dab of Face Off OG wax and prepared to smoke it from his electric nail, set to its usual 605 degrees.
The next day, before Jason could bring the plants back, the landlord of his West Oakland house sent a text to say he was on the way to check the smoke detectors. After quickly claiming to have food poisoning to delay the visit, Jason had to move everything all over again.
Capers like this have long been a part of the unregulated world of medical cannabis. But with the passage of Proposition 64 on the November 8 ballot, and new statewide medical cannabis regulations about to be implemented, a whole new set of challenges is coming. And those challenges will be particularly apparent in Oakland, hometown of Oaksterdam University and a city that will undoubtedly remain a center of the cannabis trade.
Prohibition against recreational use ended the day after the election in California, but residents can't legally buy pot without a medical recommendation until 2018. Experts agree it'll take a while to see the full impact of legalization, but it's clear a major new industry will be born–and a big shakeup will hit everyone from secret growers like Jason to businesses already operating legitimately under state and local law.
Even if Proposition 64 didn't pass, many of these changes were on their way for the medical industry.
California voters legalized medical cannabis in 1996, but there had never been a statewide regulatory system until the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) became law in January. MCRSA is the joint effort of three pot-related laws requiring state agencies to issue licenses to medical cannabis businesses, enforce product testing requirements and track all plants grown by licensed cultivators.
The new system is supposed to be in place by the start of 2018. It will be a vast new bureaucracy of getting high.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Cannabis Industry In Limbo As California Ends Pot Prohibition
Author: Nate Sheidlower
Contact: staff@oaklandnorth.net
Photo Credit: Nate Sheidlower
Website: Oakland North
